Nevada City police survey aimed at taking pulse of community

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Officers in Nevada City are asking the public for input to determine their concerns and views on crime and police service.

The short and anonymous survey about police service was sent to a cross section of the community in early October, and already, 200 surveys have been sent back to the Nevada City Police Department.

“Hopefully in early November, we’re going to start putting together the results and a plan of action,” said Chief Jim Wickham.

Concurrently, Wickham said the department divided the city into six regions, assigning each officer to a beat and using the survey as an excuse to go door-to-door and get to know the community, he said.

“It gives them a chance to get out of cars and get to know their community. It has been really positive,” Wickham said. “Some of these people have never had contact with their police offers before.”

The survey is one of the department’s recent endeavors to alter its approach to policing the city.

Most prominent has been allocating a foot-patrol officer to the downtown historic district, giving merchants a point of contact.

The department has also adopted a shared-operations agreement with Grass Valley, pushed an expanded smoking ban downtown and is in the process of developing further regulations for camping in the city.

“This is just one of many things we’re trying to improve in community relations,” Wickham said. “We have to join with a committed, supportive constituency to make the idea of community policing more than just a concept in Nevada City.”

As the 30-day survey period draws to a close, Wickham said the department will use the results to further shape the department’s focus in the short and long term.

“Our next goal is for the officer responsible for the area to eventually be assigned to monitor that area,” Wickham said.